Brussels and Stuttgart

Alerts from Brussels (Belgium) and Stuttgart (Germany):

1. The Brussels Brontë Group organizes its annual Brontë Weekend (Friday 23 April to Sunday 25 April 2010). This is the provisional programme:

The theme this weekend is Brontë biographies. 2010 is the bicentenary year of the birth of Charlotte Brontë's first and most famous biographer, Elizabeth Gaskell. We have organised a talk on her by Prof. Angus Easson, who has edited Mrs Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Brontë for Oxford World's Classics, and, in complete contrast, a meeting with writer Jude Morgan whose fictional biography of the Brontës, The Taste of Sorrow, came out in 2009. Jude Morgan is the author of many works of historical fiction including Passion, inspired by the lives of the Romantic poets Byron, Shelley and Keats.

Check the details on the Brussels Brontë Group website.

Friday 23 April

19.00: Welcome buffet followed by Brontë quiz

Informal buffet supper followed by a quiz on the Brontës' lives, the theme of the weekend.

Saturday 24 April

10.30: On the Brussels trail: Elizabeth Gaskell and The Life of Charlotte Brontë.
A talk by Prof. Angus Easson.

When Elizabeth Gaskell was asked by Patrick Brontë to write the life of his daughter, she already knew Charlotte well, but the demands of a biography meant she had to range widely to establish facts, particularly for the Brussels period. It became clear to her, already knowing Villette and having early access to the posthumously-published The Professor, that much autobiography was woven into them. In pursuit of materials, she visited Brussels, was given the cold shoulder by Mme Heger, but met M. Heger and realised something of the nature of the relation between him and Charlotte. This talk will trace this journey of discovery and consider how Gaskell faced the dilemma of writing about events potentially damaging to the living and to the memory of the dead. Given as a talk, rather than a lecture; intervention from the audience is welcome.

14.30: Meeting with novelist Jude Morgan (CANCELLED)

Jude Morgan is the author of many works of historical fiction including Passion, inspired by the lives of the Romantic poets Byron, Shelley and Keats. His recent fictional biography of the Brontës The Taste of Sorrow came out in 2009. We will be interviewing him about the researching and writing of the novel and he will answer questions from the audience.

14.30 : Curiosity on Villette. Talk by Professor Sandro Jung.

Sunday 25 April

10.00: A guided walk around Brontë places in Brussels. Please register as soon as possible if you are interested.

12.00: Meeting of the Brussels Brontë Group.
Taking advantage of the presence of UK and Netherlands members at the weekend's events, an informal meeting will be held to exchange ideas and information and discuss future projects for Brussels Group.

13.30: Lunch in a Brussels restaurant or possibly picnic in the park, weather permitting

2. In Stuttgart, a meeting mixing readings and music:

Bar jeglicher Vernunft III: Gruselig - Grausig - Grotesk

With texts by Robert Gernhardt, Herbert Rosendorfer, Peter Handtke, Giorgio Agamben, Emily Brontë. Music for inspiration from Robert Schumann, Tom Waits etc.

Friday, 23.04.2010, 20:00 PM
Stadtteilbücherei Untertürkheim,
Strümpfelbacher Straße 45

EDIT:
And in Varese (Italy):

Raccontare la Paura
Reading by Silvio Raffo
Piramide Piazza De Salvo Varese
23 April 9:15 PM

Raccontare la paura e' il titolo di una serata insolita e decisamente invitante. Silvio Raffo, che alla sua infaticabile attività di operatore culturale e docente affianca da sempre quella di scrittore e poeta, offre in questo caso un interessante esempio di come la lettura possa essere di per sè un mezzo di efficace coinvolgimento emotivo. Lettura recitativa, s'intende. E principalmente di questo si tratta: un reading che ha per oggetto un filone molto caro alla letteratura angloamericana, il romanzo fantastico, in Italia così raramente rappresentato. Silvio Raffo leggerà alcuni brani particolarmente suggestivi dei principali esempi di "gothic novel", dal "Castello di Otranto" di Walpole al celeberrimo "Frankenstein" di Mary Shelley, da "Jane Eyre" di Charlotte Bronte al "Giro di vite" di Henry James ", concludendo con il suo ultimo libro, uno "psycho-noir" di singolare qualità dal titolo "DEPENDANCE - IL caso Evelyn Grant" (ediz. ACAR). A tutti i partecipanti può esser garantita una serata sicuramente aliena dalla noia. (Google translation)

Categories: Alert, Brussels, Talks